Other news outlets have identified the dead only as members of NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

Initial reporting indicated there was no enemy activity in the area at the time, but coalition personnel secured the site and the cause of the crash was being investigated, NATO said.

The brief statement did not identify the nationalities of the victims, or say where the plane went down.

However, Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, deputy governor of the southern province of Zabul, told the Associated Press an aircraft belonging to foreign forces crashed Saturday afternoon in Shah Joy district. He said the site had been surrounded by international forces.